1. Field of the Technology
The present application relates generally to IPv4-to-IPv6 address transitioning methods and apparatus for systems that “push” information to wireless communication devices.
2. Description of Related Technology
There are presently several proposals for pushing information to a wireless communication device in an Internet Protocol (IP) based wireless network. In these networks, wireless devices are not provided with permanent identifiers, but instead are dynamically assigned an IP address from a pool of available addresses. Each time the wireless device makes a network connection, a different IP address is typically assigned to the wireless device.
Thus, for services attempting to push information to the particular wireless device, it is difficult to address the information since the IP address is not permanent. These proposals do not adequately deal with the problems of how to address the wireless device when pushing information to it, and how to bridge the solution to future third-generation (3G) wireless networks, such as a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network. The solutions provided by these proposals involve either creating a proprietary Personal Identification Number (PIN) for each wireless device, or trying to use a phone number (or similar permanent identifier) of the wireless device to contact it over an alternative communication network (e.g. a short messaging service (SMS) over a circuit-switched channel).
What makes the situation more difficult is the desire to implement such systems using IPv6 addressing. Many networks and devices still use IPv4 addresses and do not support IPv6 addressing. Such networks and devices may be outside the control of a service provider. Although ideally all networks and devices involved are simultaneously upgraded to support IPv6 addressing, this is highly unlikely to occur in actual practice. In the meantime, solutions are needed for the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 addressing in systems that push information to wireless communication devices having permanent IPv6 addresses.